Archive for the ‘Post-Punk’ Category

The Psychedelic Furs on Livewire

Posted: October 27, 2014 in Live Performances, New Wave, Post-Punk
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On the continuing search for early live performances by new wave bands, I came across an appearance by the Psychedelic Furs on a show called Livewire. I vaguely recalled the show but remember seeing Bow Wow Wow and The Ramones perform in the early eighties. It was a kids’ talk show on the Nickelodeon cable channel that ran from 1980 to 1985. The show covered current events and was known for giving many unknown bands their first US TV appearance. The performances usually included an interview where the kids could ask the musicians questions. The format wasn’t groundbreaking but was interesting for the time. Other artists featured on the show included R.E.M, Split Enz, The Lords of the New Church, Afrika Bambaata, Twisted Sister, and Manowar, among others. I’ve tried digging up more performances but they are hard to come by.

The appearance by the Furs was probably in 1980, since they performed two songs off their self-titled debut album (released in 1980), and were just finishing up their first US tour. Besides performing, they also gave an interview where they were asked about the influence of the new “British Invasion” on the American music scene. Although the Furs do not perform live, the show would later change the format and have the artists give live performances. And for some reason the clips below are in black and white, which was not the regular format of the show.

“We Love You” was the first single released from the debut album. Richard Butler gives an energetic performance besides being up for over 36 hours (as we find out in the interview).

 

The second song they performed was “Sister Europe” – one of my favorites from the group. It was the second single released from the album and would later go on to be covered by Icehouse and the Foo Fighters.

 

Classic Video: Siouxsie & the Banshees

Posted: October 21, 2014 in Classic Videos, Goth, New Wave, Post-Punk
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With Halloween approaching, I thought it would be appropriate to highlight videos that capture the holiday spirit. One of the first videos that came to mind is Siouxsie & the Banshees’ mystical “Spellbound.” Not only because the video contains some great images (black cats, fire, masks), but the song was, and continues to be, one of my favorites from the group. With its great opening guitar, pounding drums, and Siouxsie’s signature vocals, it’s no wonder the song has found a place in pop culture, showing up as recently in the show True Blood.

“Spellbound” was the first single released from the Banshees’ fourth album, 1981’s Juju. The album was a commercial and critical success in the UK, and is considered a landmark album of the post-punk period. Melody Maker cited it as “one of the most influential British albums ever” and guitar player John McGeoch was singled out for his work on “Spellbound” by critics and fellow musicians. Johnny Marr of The Smiths praised the efforts for its cleverness and “mysterious” quality. In 2006, McGeoch was named one of the greatest guitarists of all time by Mojo magazine for his work on the song.

 

Band Profile: Sad Lovers & Giants

Posted: October 20, 2014 in Band Profiles, Goth, New Wave, Post-Punk
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England’s Sad Lovers & Giants are one of those bands who should have received more recognition during the early ‘80s post-punk era. They had a great atmospheric sound that was prevalent during that time period but were overshadowed by bands such as The Cure, who they were often compared. They recorded under the Midnight Music record label, known for their experimental and post-punk roster which included The Essence and The Snake Corps. I first became familiar with the band through their song “Colourless Dream” and was immediately taken with the multi-layered guitar work and haunting keyboards.

Sad Lovers & Giants formed in 1980 in Watford, England, and developed a following within their native country and Europe. They released two singles in 1981 under the Last Movement record label (“Colourless Dream” and “Things We Never Did”) before signing with Midnight Music in 1982. Their first album, 1982’s Epic Garden Music, combined a psychedelic sound with gloomy layered guitars. Their second album Feeding the Flame, released in 1983, continued the melancholy, moody sound and drew comparisons to Joy Division. Just as the band was building a following outside of England, they split up in 1983. They reformed with a different lineup in 1986 and released three more albums before Midnight Music dissolved. Returning, yet again, with another reformed lineup in 2009, they are currently working on material for a new album.

The band’s second single, “Colourless Dream,” was later included on the 1988 reissue of the album Epic Garden Music.

 

“Echoplay” is the lead song off their debut album and sounds very much like a hybrid between Joy Division and The Cure.

 

Movie Soundtracks: Times Square

Posted: October 18, 2014 in New Wave, Post-Punk, Rock, Soundtracks
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Upon its release in 1980, the soundtrack to the film Times Square garnered more attention than the movie. Not surprising, as it was one of the best soundtracks of the ‘80s and perfectly captured the waning ‘70s punk scene and the emergence of ‘80s new wave. I saw the movie several times as a teen and could relate to its anti-adult authority message (what teen couldn’t), but it was the music that really stayed with me. The film introduced me to Gary Numan’s “Down in the Park,” Roxy Music’s “Same Old Scene,” and the work of Patti Smith. Directed by Allan Moyle, who would later go on to direct Pump Up the Volume, the movie was a commercial failure but has since been rediscovered and maintains a cult following.

The story of the film revolves around two teen girls from vastly different backgrounds who meet in a mental ward and find common ground in their disdain for authority figures. Pamela (Trini Alvarado) is the introverted, lonely daughter of a politician, and Nicky (Robin Johnson) is the tough street kid. They bust out of the ward and go on to form a band (The Sleez Sisters) to vent about their misunderstood lives. They get the attention of a DJ (Tim Curry) who promotes them and they soon find a following among the disaffected youth. Awareness of their differences eventually ends the union, but not before a grand finale show atop a roof in the middle of Times Square.

The soundtrack, released as a double album, has an eclectic mix of artists and covers a wide range of music from rock, punk, disco, and new wave. Artists such as David Bowie and XTC were commissioned to write songs for the film, although Bowie’s contribution was nixed due to conflicts with his record label. Other artists who contributed to the soundtrack are The Cure, The Ramones, Robin Gibb, Talking Heads, The Pretenders, Lou Reed, Joe Jackson, and Suzi Quatro (yes, Leather Tuscadero from Happy Days). The soundtrack also has original songs performed by the actors in the film, one a duet with Robin Johnson and David Johansen. The production of the film had its difficulties, Moyle being fired over his objections to scenes being cut and the inclusion of some “inappropriate” songs on the soundtrack, but it’s an interesting look at the pre-Giuliani Times Square that doesn’t exist today.

Here’s a clip from the film where Johnson’s character makes her debut as Aggie Doone. The song, “Damn Dog,” was written for the film and would later be covered by the group Manic Street Preachers.

 

The girls doing a dance to the Talking Heads’ “Life During Wartime” on the streets of Times Square.

 

Band Profile: Translator

Posted: October 7, 2014 in Alternative, Band Profiles, New Wave, Post-Punk
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Translator is another band that slipped under my radar back in the ‘80s. I was familiar with the song “Everywhere That I’m Not” but other than that, I knew very little about the group. After checking out more of their music, I was surprised to learn that they are American. With their updated Merseybeat sound, I thought for sure they were British. Not surprisingly, one of the band’s biggest influences is the Beatles. They had little commercial success, but their stripped down psychedelic, guitar-based sound appealed to college radio audiences.

Translator formed in L.A. in the late ‘70s and their first album, Heartbeats and Triggers, was released in 1982. It contains the single “Everywhere That I’m Not,” which remains the group’s most identifiable song. They recorded four albums throughout the ‘80s, and maintained underground popularity during that time period. In 1986 they recorded their last album, Evening of the Harvest, which saw the band move to a more mature, nuanced sound. The group broke up shortly after that release and pursued solo careers. They continued to reunite over the years, and released an album in 2012, Big Green Lawn.

“Everywhere That I’m Not” is the band’s first single and put them on the college radio map.

 

The single “Un-Alone” is off of their second album, No Time Like Now, released in 1983. It received some radio airplay but the group was never able to match the success of their first single.

 

Eurythmics: In the Garden

Posted: September 30, 2014 in Albums, New Wave, Post-Punk, Synthpop
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I’ve been a fan of the Eurythmics since their 1983 album Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), which I had mistakenly thought was their debut album. Little did I know that they had actually released their first album, In the Garden, two years prior. I came across the album in yet another search for overlooked new wave music. It turns out the album had very little chart success and had faded into obscurity. It was considered too experimental and didn’t quite find an audience at the time. Not released in the US until 2005, anyone who has an appreciation for electropop music from the early eighties will find this album well worth listening to.

Co-produced by electronic music pioneer Conny Plank, the album is a mix of brooding electronic and psychedelic sounds. The duo had worked with Plank in their previous band, The Tourists, which they left to form the Eurythmics in 1980. Feeling that a fixed band line-up was stifling them creatively, they wanted to form a project that would allow for more experimentation with “electronics and the avant-garde.” They determined that they would be the only permanent members of the group and would collaborate with others musicians based on how compatible they were with their musical vision.

“Never Gonna Cry Again” was the first single from the album, and the first video by the Eurythmics. It’s a moody song with what is described as a reggae-style baseline, which new wave artists were experimenting with at time. The song also features a rare performance on flute by Annie Lennox.

 

Considered one of the album’s more accessible songs, “Belinda” was a commercial failure. It’s one of my favorites from the album and is included regularly on my playlists.

 

The Church: Before “Under the Milky Way”

Posted: September 29, 2014 in Alternative, Band Profiles, New Wave, Post-Punk
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One of my favorite songs from the early ‘80s was “The Unguarded Moment” by The Church. I remember seeing the video on MTV and promptly getting my tape recorder ready in hopes that it would be shown again (that’s how we did things before VHS recorders). There wasn’t much to the video, just the band performing the song on a studio soundstage with very little visual effects. It didn’t matter though, the guitar intro alone was enough to grab my attention. I heard little more from the band until their US success in the late ‘80s. It wasn’t until recently that I decided to track down more of their earlier work to see what else I might have missed.

Most people were first introduced to The Church through their 1988 hit “Under the Milky Way,” off the album Starfish. It was an international hit and peaked at #26 on the US charts. But within their native Australia, the group had been churning out hits since 1981. Formed in Sydney in 1980, the band had an infectious post-punk, guitar-heavy psychedelic sound. The group released their first album, Of Skins and Heart, in 1981 to good commercial success. The album was later repackaged and released in the US in 1982 as The Church. Their second album, 1982’s The Blurred Crusade, performed well in Australia but wasn’t released in the US, as it was considered not radio-friendly enough for North American audiences. By the ‘90s their sound had gone more mainstream, bordering on progressive rock. They continue to tour and record and will release their 25th studio album, Further/Deeper, in late 2014.

“The Unguarded Moment” was the second single released from their debut album, Of Skins and Heart. It peaked at #22 on the Australian charts and led one Rolling Stone critic to describe it as The Church’s “1981 jangling gem.”

 

The song “Dropping Names” is from the band’s third album, 1983’s Seance, which found the group gravitating to more of an atmospheric sound.

 

Classic Video: The Damned

Posted: September 29, 2014 in Classic Videos, Goth, New Wave, Post-Punk
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When I started going to dance clubs in the late ’80s, I’d regularly pester the deejays to play The Damned‘s “Alone Again Or.” It never failed to elicit the best goth moves from the dance floor. A remake of the 1967 song by the group Love, it’s quite faithful to the original version. (The band acknowledged Love as one of their influences). The single is off the album Anything, released in 1986. It didn’t have any chart success in the US, but hit #27 on the UK charts. The video is a surreal mix of desert landscape, horses, motorcycles, trucks, and flamenco dancers.

 

Movie Soundtracks: Breaking Glass

Posted: September 24, 2014 in New Wave, Post-Punk, Soundtracks
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I was recently asked to make a list of 15 movies that had a lasting impact on me. At first I thought this would be an impossible task but after mulling it over, I decided to take five minutes and write down the first movies that came to mind. The British film Breaking Glass was one of those movies, not because it was a great film but because it really laid the foundation for my appreciation of punk and new wave music. I remember seeing it as a kid in the early ‘80s (for some reason it was played religiously on HBO) and it really made an impression on me – the hard-driving music, the fashion, and the anti-establishment message was unlike anything I’d seen or heard before.

Released in 1980, Breaking Glass is the familiar story of a band (Breaking Glass) getting discovered in a seedy bar, rising to fame, and then succumbing to the pitfalls of money and stardom. It’s also a tale about the underbelly of the music industry and the ease of how the most artistically earnest of individuals can sell out. The backdrop of high unemployment, industrial strikes, and general discontent only add to the bleak atmosphere of film. The songs for the soundtrack (produced by Tony Visconti) were written by Hazel O’Connor, who also plays the lead singer, making it the first time a female both wrote and performed a film’s entire soundtrack. The album, which was the basis for the soundtrack, went double platinum and reached #5 in the UK. It also produced numerous hit singles. The soundtrack, with its urgent and energetic sound, impressively holds up after all these years.

The song “Big Brother” has O’Connor speaking out about the perils of conforming to a soulless society. The clip below has stills of the movie, which show O’Connor looking very much like a character out of Blade Runner.

 

“Eighth Day” is the final song performed in the film. It finds O’Connor dressed in a futuristic costume (inspired by Fritz Lang’s Metropolis) cautioning of a time when machines and technology will rule the world.

 

Classic Video: Echo & the Bunneymen

Posted: September 23, 2014 in Classic Videos, New Wave, Post-Punk
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“The Killing Moon” is a single off of Echo & the Bunnymen’s fourth album, Ocean Rain, released in 1984. The album marked a change in the group’s music, moving away from their post-punk roots to a lighter sound incorporating strings and piano. The song remains one of the band’s biggest hits – peaking at #9 on the UK charts. The single didn’t make much of an impact in the U.S. and is probably most well-known for its use in the opening scene of the 2001 film Donnie Darko (one of the great marriages between film and song). The video is dark and full of wind-swept images that perfectly fit the mood of the song.

 

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